1. Our air conditioner went out Monday afternoon. Alex and I had been running errands and came home to a house that was unexpectedly stuffy. There was still air blowing out of the vents, though, and it wasn’t warm air, so I kept trying to tell myself that it was just really hot outside and the A/C was having to work extra hard. By the time David got home, though, it was clear that we were in a legitimate A/C trouble, so we called the repair people and were surprised that they could get to the house early that same evening. By 7:00 we were back in business, and the repair cost was mercifully reasonable. So that was a delightful turn of events.

(If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll recall that week before last I was somewhat prideful about the effectiveness of our A/C.)

(Apparently pride goeth before the burned out capacitor.)

2. I made a quick trip to Mississippi last week and made it back to Birmingham late Wednesday afternoon – just in time to see The Oh Hellos in concert Wednesday night. They are so talented and such a joy to see and hear live. If they are playing in your area, you should totally go see them. Such a treat.

3. We finished the dotMOM opening video Thursday afternoon. There was a small part that they filmed at our house, and that means I spent most of Thursday morning trying to get the house ready. I threw out mail / magazines and took all the junk off the refrigerator and wiped down the all the surfaces and put everything away in its proper place. In other words, I made the house look like no people actually live here. I also had to run Hazel to the vet since I thought the video equipment might freak her out (the vacuum cleaner nearly gives her a heart attack, so I couldn’t fathom how she’d respond to the tall lights). It turned out to be a really fun day, though; we finished the video, and Alex even got to make a little cameo. (By the way, early bird pricing for dotMOM lasts until August 1, and then the regular price kicks in).

4. Book #3 is in the works, and I am ALL ABOUT writing right now. I know that summer will be over before I know it, so I am trying to make as much progress as I can while I can. I don’t know if I can really explain it, but there is something about the new book that has been such a joy to work on. Don’t get me wrong – I loved writing the first two – but this one is a little different in terms of content and structure, and I am loving the shift. I keep telling David that my brain is so happy this summer, and this new book has been a big part of that. Timing-wise it has worked out so that I’ve had a lot of time to think about how to organize everything – which means I’ve been more detailed in terms of mapping out chapters – and I’ve enjoyed it so much. Having the time and space to focus has been a gift, I tell you – A GIFT.

5. Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby in search of a new bulletin board to go above my desk, and I was so tickled when I found one I liked and then the cashier told me how to find a coupon for 40% off on my phone. Honestly, I was flat-out relieved when she told me about the coupon because I was thinking on the way to the check-out that based on the prices, Hobby Lobby sure did think a lot of their cork board inventory. But 40% off made it all better. As it tends to do.

6. This afternoon I framed a print that I ordered from Pen & Paint, and now it’s my new favorite thing.

7. One last thing. When I was at Home Goods and Hobby Lobby yesterday, I saw lots of mamas and daughters shopping for dorm stuff. It made me SO nostalgic and a little teary-eyed, too; I’m so excited for the girls I know who are about to be freshmen, but I know their mamas are gonna miss them like crazy. I thought about this song the rest of the day; I’ve always been a sucker for a coming-of-age anthem. :-)

After a couple of weeks away, Melanie and I finally found a good time to sit down and podcast and talk about all the things. We rehash our magical Thursday with Christy Nockels, we discuss Piper and Mabel’s new doggie daycare possibility, and Melanie shares a frankincense update along with a new and exciting skincare product.

On top of all that excitement, there’s the latest with Martha, our continuing efforts to develop an organizational method for writing books, my complete inability to write fiction, and our mutual fascination with Alicia Florrick’s eye make-up.

Alicia Florrick is not in fact a real person, but her smoky eye is fantastic.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

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I have been emotional today. I'm not exactly sure why. But I knew that I was a little on the tender side when I was in a meeting this morning and someone asked me a very simple question about work - and all of the sudden I felt tears well up in the … [Continue reading]

I can't say for sure that filming the dotMOM intro video with Melanie and Christy Nockels was an adrenaline rush, but I can tell you that when I finally got home Friday afternoon around 1:30, I hung out with Alex for a little while, visited for a few … [Continue reading]

A few items of interest (well, hopefully) on what has turned out to be a most enjoyable Tuesday:
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